Microelectromechanical devices are useful in many applications. These devices range from automobile sensors to actuators used on space exploration vehicles. Generally, these sensors and actuators provide information about environmental conditions, and/or react to changes in the environmental conditions. For instance, a microelectromechanical-pressure-sensor device may be used to measure an automobile's engine manifold pressure (or vacuum). In operation, the microelectromechanical-pressure-sensor device provides an electrical output that is proportional to the manifold pressure (or vacuum). This electrical output may be used by an engine management system for controlling fuel delivery to the automobile's engine.
In another useful application, one or more microelectromechanical-accelerometer devices may be employed for measuring the acceleration or, conversely, the deceleration of a vehicle. In crash situations, these devices may enable a crash detection system to determine whether to deploy an airbag.
Additionally, microelectromechanical devices are pervasively deployed in many types of industrial equipment. From simple single-fixture assembly machines to high-volume complex machinery, these microelectromechanical devices supply feedback for process and quality control.
Microelectromechanical devices may be incorporated as components in many medical equipment devices, such as respiration devices, dialysis machines, and infusion pumps. In surgical procedures, physicians are aided by data from various pieces of surgical equipment that employ microelectromechanical devices. These devices generally furnish information about the surrounding area in which the surgeon is operating. For example, the gage or absolute pressure of the area in which a catheter is positioned may be provided by an electrical output of a microelectromechanical-sensor device installed on the tip of the catheter. During an operation or other medical procedure, this electrical output may provide valuable feedback to the surgeon.
These cited examples indicate the breadth of microelectromechanical devices used in various applications in today's automated world, however many other microelectromechanical devices exist. Moreover, the types of devices, and their related applications continue to proliferate. Due to the widespread adoption and the ever-decreasing size of microelectromechanical devices, maintaining or improving the quality and performance of these devices may require implementing device and process control improvements so that the devices perform accurately, reliably, reproducibly, and repeatedly.
Environmental conditions acting on or impressed upon environmentally susceptible microelectromechanical devices may cause unwanted effects that may prevent the devices from attaining acceptable performance levels. These environmental conditions, which often contain energy in one form or another, may cause undesired effects, such as drift or instability, in the device's electrical output. To reduce or eliminate the drift or instability, a system and method that minimizes or eliminates the undesirable exchange of energy would be desirable.